Thursday, March 24, 2005

Douglas H. Johnson, Parliamentary Brief: Comprehensive Sudan peace agreement: playing for time

Douglas H. Johnson is author of The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars' (James Cuney, 2003) and editor of the Sudan volume of the British Documents on the End of Empire series. The following piece, published online at the SudanTribune February 28, 2005, is copied here in full for future reference.

"Comprehensive Sudan peace agreement: playing for time"
By Douglas H. Johnson, Parliamentary Brief

Feb, 2005 -- The signing of a comprehensive Sudan peace agreement in Nairobi on 9 January brings to an end the final negotiation phase, extended over nearly three years, of the 'Peace Process' begun a dozen years ago. It sets in motion a six month 'pre-interim period' to be followed by a six year 'interim period' during which the provisions of the agreement are to be implemented. Only on the conclusion of that will we know with any certainty whether peace has come to Sudan.

The agreement includes protocols on state and religion, self-determination, power sharing, wealth sharing, security, a ceasefire agreement, the status of the border areas of Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, and a separate set of modalities for implementation, which alone runs to over a hundred pages.

To assess whether an agreement of such complexity can bring a lasting peace to Sudan one must first examine the extent that it addresses the causes of the war, and then gauge the extent that either side is willing or able to implement it.

Western Journalists repeatedly state that the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Amy (SPLM/A) is fighting for 'greater autonomy for the Christian and animist South'. This is wrong. The SPLM has always repudiated the idea that there a 'Southern problem' that needs a special attention, and have claimed instead that the South's own grievances are part of a wider national problem of sectarian, racial and regional imbalance.

The official goal of the SPLM has always been, and still remains, a 'New Sudan'. This ostensibly means a Sudan freed from the dominance of Islamic sectarian politics, and where underdeveloped regions have a greater say in their own administration, greater control over their own resources, and a greater share in the nation's governance. Independence for the South has been presented as a secondary option, a fallback position for the South alone, in the event that Northern intransigence makes the 'New Sudan' unobtainable.

The SPLM's position has been vindicated, in part, by events. The war is not confined to the South, but has spread to other 'marginalized' areas with Muslim populations. This not only includes the 'African' regions of Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, but the fully 'Northern' Muslim region of the Eastern Sudan, where the SPLA has long had a military presence.

The fighting in Darfur is part of the same trend. Whatever ideology still divides them, the anonymous authors of The Black Book and the spokespersons for the Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army and the Justice and Equality Movement have all articulated Darfur's grievances in terms very similar to the SPLM' s original position: their common enemy is seen as the clique from the central Nile Valley who have dominated Sudan's governments and controlled its economy since independence.

It is a restructured Sudan, not secession, that is presented as a solution for the grievances of Darfur, the East, Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains, and the South is seen as a key player and guarantor in such a restructuring.

The National Islamic Front (NIF) seized control in a coup in 1989 to prevent such a restructuring being negotiated between the SPLM and the government of Sadiq al-Mahdi (Southern secession was not even on the agenda at that time).

Since then they have imposed their version of an Islamic state, ruthlessly suppressing the Muslim opposition and generating a series of rebellions throughout the Muslim North. It is partly for this reason that they cannot afford to make any concessions on the Islamic state: to do so would be to give an opening to their Muslim opponents.

When the current peace process was revitalised by the Bush administration in 2002, Khartoum managed to persuade the president's envoy, former Senator Reverend Jack Danforth, that they represented the will of the Muslim majority in the North.

ln consequence, the solution that both Danforth and the State Department favoured, and which set the agenda for the renewed peace talks, was the preservation of the Islamic state in the North and regional autonomy for the South, protected by US-style constitutional guarantees for minority rights.

The SPLM's 'New Sudan' was not an option even to be discussed. Secession thus became the only realistic alternative. The Machakos Protocol of July 2002, which is the basis on which all subsequent protocols have been negotiated, thus enshrined a unitary Sudan as an Islamic state with a separate Southern regional administration, but with the Southern option to secede after a fixed period.

Negotiations since 2002 have focused on how the SPLM and the South can function within such a state over the next six years. Ostensibly this is to create the conditions by which Southerners will be persuaded to voluntarily remain part of a united Sudan.

Conversely, the provisions must also set up a viable Southern state which will have a chance of surviving on its own should Southerners choose secession. Thus the SPLA is not to be disbanded (as the old Anyanya was), but both it and the national army are to be reduced, and both are to contribute to a national force which will be stationed in parts of the current war zone.

The SPLM is to take over the administration of the entire South, including those are as currently under government control. The South is also to have a certain amount of economic autonomy.

The revenues from the Southern oil fields are to be divided equally between the Southern and National governments, but the Southern government has no power to renegotiate any of the oil leases the National government has granted prior to the date of the final peace agreement.

Southerners are also to have a share in the national government. Not only does SPLM chairman John Garang become vice-president of the Sudan (as well as president of the South), but Southerners have been offered a quota of 30 per cent of appointments in the central government.

Separate provisions have been made for the regional states of the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, both of whom have contributed substantially to the SPLA, but neither of whom desire to be incorporated into an autonomous or independent Southern state.

Each is to have its own autonomous regional government, but the SPLM/A in both regions will have to share not only the civil administration, but the security forces with the government and its current allies.

An agreement this complex will need goodwill to implement, not only for the immediate cease fire and six month 'pre-interim' period, but throughout the following six years and especially during the final referendum in the South. So far there are worrying indications that such goodwill is not forthcoming.

The government's behaviour in Darfur has shown that it is unwilling to apply either the letter or spirit of cease-fire agreements. This is not surprising considering its numerous, documented violations of the agreements to cease offensive operations in the South or avoid attacking civilians.

The devastation of the Shilluk Kingdom in 2004 (see Parliamentary Brief, August 2004) was just the most recent example of such violations. The failure of the US and the UK not only to impose some sanctions on Khartoum for these violations, but to even make public protests, is one reason why Khartoum, quite rightly, decided that it could get away with similar violations in Darfur with impunity.

Just as worrying as this past behaviour are reports that the government is also trying to establish new militias in the border areas (Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains and Abyei) to resist the implementation of the peace agreement on the ground.

The last minute absorption of the government's Southern militias into the national army is also an indication that Khartoum is going to try to maintain its own allies within terri tories to be handed over to the SPLM administration. Any sustained effort by Khartoum either to circumvent or to undermine the provisions of the agreement will mean that, once again, secession of the South will become the only alternative.

In the South, opinion in the SPLM is already divided over whether to try to make the agreement for a united Sudan work or to go all out for secession.

If the latter opinion prevails then it is unlikely that Garang and the SPLM can make effective use of their role in the central government to bring an end to the Darfur fighting or insist on negotiations with Sudan's internal Muslim opposition, thus diluting the NIF's Islamic state.

The South's erstwhile allies in Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains (and even, possibly, in the Dinka enclave of Abyei) could be abandoned in favour of a narrowly constructed Southern nationalism.

Such short-term thinking would be counterproductive, because whether the South remains part of Sudan or becomes independent, it will need allies in the North, and especially along its borders. This requires a recognition of common goals, as well as common grievances.
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Causes of conflict in Sudan: Testing the Black Book

The following is an excerpt from a January 2005 Working Paper by Alex Cobham titled "Causes of conflict in Sudan: Testing the Black Book." [Source of link via Coaliton for Darfur, with thanks]

The authors of the Black Book sought to show the effect of this discourse on access to power in the Sudan. To do this, they determined the regional origins of each minister appointed in each government from independence in 1956 until 2000, and compared it with the underlying population distribution.

This data is summarised in table 1, and shows how the ministerial share of the northern region varied between 60% and 80%, with the sole exception of the second democratic period (1986-89) when the share fell to 47%. The northern regions’ population makes up less than 5% of the total.

The claim of the authors, which is expanded upon to some extent in part II (Anonymous, 2004b; Arabic version 2002), 4 is that this distortion had real and significant effects on the performance of government duties at every level - from the employment of outsiders to work on oil fields inconveniently located in marginalised regions, to the allocation of funds for public health expenditure. Disproportionate access to power brought disproportionate provision of government support, and unfairly reduced the human development opportunities of the marginalised.

This paper seeks to evaluate the validity of the Black Book's claim. The authors were later revealed to be associated with one of the two Darfur rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement, so it should in no way be seen as neutral in regard to the current conflict. As a basis for making greater demands in negotiations, claims of unfair treatment are of course likely to be helpful. If the claims are borne out however, there are important implications not only for the settlement eventually reached but for the conduct of the large-scale development effort that will follow.

Section 2 compares the basic economic and human development performance of Sudan with each of the neighbouring countries, and assesses the relative strengths and weaknesses.

Section 3 sets out the available data on government and state finances, including deriving the regional pattern of central subsidy and contribution. The extent of development expenditure per capita is also calculated.

Section 4 constructs and examines regional data on education and health indicators, to assess whether these patterns of expenditure and finance have results in terms of the human development opportunities for the inhabitants of different areas of the Sudan.

Finally, section 5 draws conclusions about the validity of the claims made in the Black Book.
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For further reports, click on Abyei label here below.

Sudan: U.S. thwarts justice for Darfur

March 24 Reuters Brussels -- The US is blocking UN Security Council action on the crisis in Darfur on account of US hostility to the ICC, Human Rights Watch said today.

"The US is hanging the people of Darfur out to dry by stalling on justice," said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program. "After labeling Darfur a genocide, the US is now blocking the credible threat of prosecution by the ICC, which could immediately deter further violence in Darfur."

"In the guise of taking action on a peacekeeping force in the North-South conflict, the US is pushing aside measures needed to deal with atrocities in Darfur," said Dicker. "Vague commitments to accountability are not enough. The heinous crimes committed in Darfur need immediate investigation and prosecution by the ICC." Full Story.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

France puts U.S. in tight spot on Sudan

March 23 (AP) - France on Wednesday presented a UN resolution allowing for the prosecution of Sudanese war crimes suspects at the International Criminal Court, forcing the US to choose between accepting a body it opposes or casting a politically damaging veto.

The US circulated three Sudan resolutions Tuesday one authorizing a peacekeeping force, another imposing sanctions, and a third tackling the issue of where to punish those responsible for atrocities. It said a vote on the final issue would have to be put off because of the divisions in the council over the court. But France, Britain and others were determined to handle the issues at once. Full Story.

Further reading -- Nigeria wants new panel on Sudan crimes, not ICC. People's Daily Online news says China opposes economic sanctions against Darfur crisis.
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Quotation

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it, always." - via Be
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UN chief meets Sudanese President, calls for Intl engagement in Darfur

March 23 (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels Tuesday to stick by a frequently-broken cease-fire, saying it could take months for UN peacekeepers to deploy in the region if they are approved.

At the request of the US, the council voted last week for a second week-long extension of the UN political mission in Sudan. But many members including France, Algeria and Britain made clear they are fed up with the delays and want a vote next week on a new resolution.
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UK calls on Sudanese rebels to resume Darfur peace talks

March 22 (AP) -- A British minister on Tuesday called on two Sudanese rebel factions to resume peace talks with the Sudanese government to end the crisis in Darfur.

Foreign Office Minister Chris Mullin said the Darfur rebel groups SLMA and the JEM "should reconsider their current position and agree to the immediate resumption of the peace talks in Abuja without preconditions."

"The current position of non-engagement is unacceptable and is unnecessarily delaying peace in Darfur," said Mullin, after meeting with Minni Minnawi of the SLM in London.

Britain has also called on the Sudanese government to do more to end the Darfur conflict.
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Sudan criticises aid agencies over Darfur aid money

March 20 (AFP) -- Sudan has accused humanitarian agencies operating in Darfur of using only a fraction of funds from donors on the crisis and retaining much of it for their own activities, the independent al-Sahafa daily reported Sunday.

The paper quoted the governor of South Darfur state, Al-Hajj Atta al-Mannan, as saying that just over 10 percent of the total amount of financial assistance donated for the crisis in Darfur had reached the needy. He claimed that the majority of the money was used to fund activities not related directly to the plight of the people of Darfur.

"The share of the people of Darfur from this fund was only 12 percent while the remainder was spent on administrative operations and workers of the international organisations in Darfur," Mannan charged. Full Story.
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Appeal for billions in development aid

Sudan needs almost eight billion dollars (six billion euros) for reconstruction and development over the next two years to recover from two decades of North-South civil war, an assessment team has indicated. The team, made up of representatives of the Khartoum government and the ex-rebel SPLM, said 7.8 billion dollars (5.8 billion euros), would be required through 2007.

Much of that was to be funded with domestic oil revenues, and international donors would be asked to contribute 2.66 billion dollars (two billion euros) of the total, the team said.

But the amount did not include the massive expenditures that will be needed for UN peacekeeping operations in the South, it said. Nor did it cover money that would be required to restore stability to Darfur.
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Sudan Airways to Fly to London

March 21 -- Sudan Airways will fly the London route, barely a month since it resumed flights to Entebbe Airport. The airline's country manager, said on Saturday, the move to be implemented in April, was aimed at popularising the airline and cope with the demand.

"We shall be embarking on the London route. We have already ordered for one Airbus for that purpose. We want all those people who choose to fly Sudan Airways to continue enjoying the high class services of their first choice airliner while they also get the opportunity of flying with it to London," Adam said."

"It's just as well though that we also had to introduce the London route since there is an overwhelming demand for it," he said.
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Darfur rebels call on Arabs to protect minorities

March 22 (Reuters) -- Darfur rebels want an Arab summit this week to show support for minorities in Arab countries and help bring war criminals to justice, rebel leaders said on Monday.

"We are calling on the Arab leaders at the Arab summit in Algeria to pass a resolution to respect the rights of non-Arabs in Arab countries," Khalil Ibrahim, a leader of the JEM, told Reuters from the Eritrean capital Asmara.

Abdel Wahed Muhamed al-Nur, a leader of the SLA, another rebel group, said he wanted the Arab states to back the recommendations of a UN-appointed inquiry commission that suspected Darfur war criminals be put on trial at the International Criminal Court.

"We call on the Arab states to support the trial of the people the UN has said are perpetrators of war crimes," he told Reuters from Kenya's capital Nairobi.

Arab leaders met in the Algerian capital Algiers on Tuesday.
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AU force presence encourages Darfur displaced to return home

March 20 (PANA) -- The presence of the African Union monitoring mission in Sudan has encouraged certain local communities in Darfur, especially in Tine and Labado to return to their homes, the continental body's assessment mission reported Saturday.

"The recent arrival of AU civilian police in a number of camps hosting internally displaced persons has also encouraged the local population to resume their normal activities without fear of harassment," says an AU press release issued Saturday after a weeklong tour by a high level team in Darfur.

The visit to Darfur was recommended in a resolution adopted by the 17th session of the AU Peace and Security Council on 20 October 2004, which urged the AU Commission to report regularly on the situation in Darfur and on the operations and activities of its mission.

AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Council, Ambassador Said Djinit, led the assessment team, which left Khartoum for Darfur on 11 March. The head of AMIS, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, ANIS Force Commander, Major General Festus Okonkwo, as well as representatives of AU partners accompanied Djinit.

The assessment team visited all the eight AMIS military sectors with headquarters at El Fasher, Nyala, El Geneina, Kabkabiya, Tine, Zalingei, El Daien and Kutum. It also met with SLA and JEM representatives and field commanders as well as senior Sudanese officers in the Western Command area.

"The meetings focused on strengthening further cooperation between the AU and the Sudanese parties and how to pave way for an early resumption of Abuja peace talks," the release said. Full Story.

Monday, March 21, 2005

US contracted Brian Steidle and two other Americans to work as AU monitors in Darfur, Sudan

Brian Steidle, who served four years in the US Marine Corps, recently spent six months working for a US State Department contractor as a ceasefire monitor with the African Union force in Darfur. His sister, Gretchen Steidle Wallace, assisted in the writing of this piece. I am copying it here below in full, for future reference, incase the link becomes broken.

Apart from the fact that the US State Department contracts Americans to work for the African Union as neutral observers, and allows one of them to freely use the media [which I find most strange] in a way that could create difficulties for aid workers currently in Sudan, what I also find odd about the piece is that it appears to be a conglomeration, both in tone and content, of almost every piece on Darfur I have read at The Washington Post. I stopped linking to the Post a while back because of inaccuracies in its reports that appeared politically motivated, were more emotive than fact and, in my view, naive and not at all balanced. [Note how Samantha Power's sensational reports on Darfur are not so frequent since Senator John Kerry failed in his bid for the US Presidency]. Last year, even Khartoum complained about The Washington Post and its reporter Emily Wax. I don't blame them. Such reports seem like American propaganda and make one wonder why the Americans need to produce propaganda when it comes to such serious issues as Darfur and the Sudan.

UPDATE: I have just googled Gretchen Steidle Wallace and found that Brian Steidle is now working with his sister, Gretchen Steidle Wallace, founder of Global Grassroots, a non-profit organisation founded in 2004, who is also currently working on a documentary film to profile the hardship and innovation of women in the refugee camps in and surrounding Darfur, Sudan.

The point I am getting at in this post is the regime in Khartoum read The Washington Post. High profile reports by Brian Steidle could impact on aid workers who risk their lives trying to reach those in the Sudan who are suffering the most dismal of lives on this planet. [Further update below].

"In Darfur, my camera was not nearly enough" By Brian Steidle, The Washington Post, March 20, 2005:

Our helicopter touched down in a cloud of camel-brown sand, dust and plastic debris. As the cloud gradually settled into new layers on the bone-dry desert landscape, we could make out the faces of terrified villagers. "Welcome to Sudan," I murmured to myself, grabbing my pen and waterproof notebook.

A former Marine, I had arrived in Sudan's Darfur region in September 2004 as one of three U.S. military observers for the African Union, armed only with a pen, pad and camera. The mandate for the A.U. force allowed merely for the reporting of violations of a cease-fire that had been declared last April and the protection of observers. The observers sometimes joked morbidly that our mission was to search endlessly for the cease-fire we constantly failed to find. I soon realized that this was no joke.

The conflict had begun nearly 1 1/2 years earlier and had escalated into a full-scale government-sponsored military operation that, with the support of Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, was aimed at annihilating the African tribes in the region. And while the cease-fire was supposed to have put a stop to that, on an almost daily basis we would be called to investigate reports of attacks on civilians. We would find men, women and children tortured and killed, and villages burned to the ground.

The first photograph I took in Darfur was of a tiny child, Mihad Hamid. She was only a year old when I found her. Her mother had attempted to escape an onslaught from helicopter gunships and Janjaweed marauders that had descended upon her village of Alliet in October 2004. Carrying her daughter in a cloth wrapped around her waist, as is common in Sudan, Mihad's terrified mother had run from her attackers. But a bullet had rung out through the dry air, slicing through Mihad's flesh and puncturing her lungs. When I discovered the child, she was nestled in her mother's lap, wheezing in a valiant effort to breathe. With watery eyes, her mother lifted Mihad for me to examine.

Most Sudanese villagers assume that a khawadja -- a foreigner -- must be a doctor. And my frantic efforts to signal to her to lay her struggling daughter back down only convinced her that I had medical advice to dispense. It broke my heart to be able to offer her only a prayer and a glance of compassion, as I captured this casualty with my camera and notepad. I pledged, with the linguistic help of our team's Chadian mediator, that we would alert the aid organizations poised to respond.

"This is what they do," the mediator -- a neutral party to the conflict -- screamed at me. "This is what happens here! Now you know! Now you see!" I was unaware at that time that when the aid workers arrived the next day, amid continued fighting, they would never be able to locate Mihad.

Mihad now represents to me the countless victims of this vicious war, a war that we documented but given our restricted mandate were unable to stop. Every day we surveyed evidence of killings: men castrated and left to bleed to death, huts set on fire with people locked inside, children with their faces smashed in, men with their ears cut off and eyes plucked out, and the corpses of people who had been executed with gunshots to the head. We spoke with thousands of witnesses -- women who had been gang-raped and families that had lost fathers, people who plainly and soberly gave us their accounts of the slaughter.

Often we were the witnesses. Just two days after I had taken Mihad's photo, we returned to Alliet. While talking to a government commander on the outskirts of the town, we heard a buzz that sounded like a high-voltage power line. Upon entering the village, we saw that the noise was coming from flies swarming over dead animals and people. We counted about 20 dead, many burned, and then flew back to our camp to write our report. But the smell of charred flesh was hard to wash away.

The conflict in Darfur is not a battle between uniformed combatants, and it knows no rules of war. Women and children bear the greatest burden. The Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps are filled with families that have lost their fathers. Every day, women are sent outside the IDP camps to seek firewood and water, despite the constant risk of rape at the hands of the Janjaweed. Should men be available to venture out of the camps, they risk castration and murder. So families decide that rape is the lesser evil. It is a crime that families even have to make such a choice. Often women are sexually assaulted within the supposed safety of the IDP camps. Nowhere is really safe. If and when the refugees are finally able to return home and rebuild, many women may have to support themselves alone; rape victims are frequently ostracized, and others face unwanted pregnancies and an even greater burden of care.

The Janjaweed militias do not act alone. I have seen clear evidence that the atrocities committed in Darfur are the direct result of the Sudanese government's military collaboration with the militias. Attacks are well coordinated by Sudanese government officials and Arab militias, who attack villages together. Before these attacks occur, the cell phone systems are shut down by the government so that villagers cannot warn each other. Whenever we lost our phone service, we would scramble to identify the impending threat. We knew that somewhere, another reign of terror was about to begin.

Helicopter gunships belonging to the government routinely support the Arab militias on the ground. The gunships fire anti-personnel rockets that contain flashettes, or small nails, each with stabilizing fins on the back so the point hits the target first. Each gunship contains four rocket pods, each rocket pod contains about 20 rockets and each rocket contains about 500 of these flashettes. Flashette wounds look like shotgun wounds. I saw one small child's back that looked as if it had been shredded by a cheese grater. We got him to a hospital, but we did not expect him to live.

On many of the occasions we tried to investigate these attacks, we would find that fuel for our helicopters was mysteriously unavailable. We would receive unconvincing explanations from the Sudanese government's fuel company -- from "we are out of fuel" to "our fuel pumps are broken." At the same time, government helicopters continued to strafe villages unimpeded.

Those villagers who were able to escape flocked to existing IDP camps, where they would scrounge for sticks and plastic bags to construct shelter from the sun and wind. In even these desperate situations, however, the Sudanese government would not give up its murderous mission. First it would announce the need to relocate an IDP camp and assess the population of displaced people, often grossly underestimating the numbers. Then after international aid organizations had built a new, smaller camp, the government would forcibly relocate the population, leaving hundreds to thousands without shelter. It would bulldoze or drive over the old camps with trucks, often in the middle of the night in order to escape notice. It would then gather up and burn the remaining debris.

The worst thing I saw came last December, when Labado, a village of 20,000 people, was burned to the ground. We rushed there after a rebel group contacted us, and we arrived while the attack was still in progress. At the edge of the village, I found a Sudanese general who explained why he was doing nothing to stop the looting and burning. He said his job was to protect civilians and keep the road open to commercial traffic and denied that his men were participating in the attack. Then a group of uniformed men drove by in a Toyota Land Cruiser. The general said they were just going to get water, but they stopped about 75 yards away, jumped out, looted a hut and burned it. The attacks continued for a week. We have no idea how many people died there but tribal leaders later said close to 100 were missing.

Since I left Darfur last month, I have tried, in press conferences, newspaper interviews and congressional testimony, to publicize conditions there in the hope that the international community will intervene more vigorously instead of watching the atrocities run their course. That way we won't look back years from now and ask why we didn't stop another genocide.

I believe this conflict can be resolved through international pressure and international support of the African Union. Weapons sanctions and a no-fly zone throughout Darfur are critical. I have seen that the mere presence of A.U. forces can discourage attacks and, with more support, they could stop the conflict.

In December, the Sudanese general at Labado had told us that his mission was to continue clearing the route all the way to Khartoum, hundreds of miles away. The next town in line was Muhajeryia, roughly twice the size of Labado. The African Union placed 35 soldiers into Muhajeryia, not to protect the village, but to protect the civilian contractors who were establishing a base camp. Yet this small force alone was able to deter the government of Sudan, with a force of a few thousand soldiers and Janjaweed militiamen, from attacking. Shortly after that, the A.U. was able to deploy 70 more soldiers from the protection force and 10 military observers to the scorched village of Labado. Within one week, approximately 3,000 people returned to rebuild. In addition, the A.U. negotiated the withdrawal of Sudanese government troops from the area.

To secure and protect all villages in Darfur, the African Union needs several things: an expanded mandate that would allow it to protect civilians and ensure secure routes for humanitarian aid, advanced logistics and communication support, and an increase in the size of the protection force by tens of thousands.

The attention paid to Darfur in Congress and at the United Nations hasn't been enough. For the first time, we might be able to stop genocide in the making. We must not fail the men, women and children of Darfur.

During my time in Darfur, as I listened to the victims, I was astounded at their composure. Their unwavering faith provides some rationale to what seems to me an inexplicable horror. By handing over their lives to God, somehow each day is a gift, despite the massacres. "We're going to die," they acknowledge with fear, "but we hope to survive . . . Inshallah [God willing]." Unfortunately, they just don't have a choice.

We do.

Author's e-mail: steidlebs@globalgrassrootsnetwork.org

[End of report via http://www.sudantribune.com/article.php3?id_article=8637]
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Brian Steidle: One eyewitness [out of 9,000 on the ground in Sudan]

On Friday, Eugene Oregon of Coalition for Darfur blog, attended a presentation by Brian Steidle hosted by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience. Please see Eugene's post on the presentation.

Note also the following excerpt from a March 17 post at Passion of the Present:
Brian Steidle understands the anatomy of a genocide. As one of three American State Department contractors on the African Union’s (AU) monitoring team in Sudan, the 28-year-old former Marine captain witnessed the systematic destruction of villages in south Darfur in late 2004. He’s now working with Gretchen Steidle Wallace (his sister), who runs a nongovernmental organization (NGO) called Global Grassroots Network to raise awareness about the government of Sudan’s complicity in the Darfur genocide. On March 15, between meetings with Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and an appearance on Wolf Blitzer Reports, Captain Steidle sat down with American Prospect writing fellow Mark Leon Goldberg at a coffee shop in Arlington, Virginia.
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Returning to the Washington Post report, it seems that, apart from the evidence of castrations, Brian Steidle says nothing much that has not already been reported by mainstream media during the last year. There are 9,000-10,000 aid workers on the ground in Sudan. Some have lost their lives. Many experience difficulties gaining entry into Sudan and timely access to people in need of aid. Doctors Without Borders and other aid agencies go to great lengths to be neutral and not get involved politically or publicise details and photos incase it breaks trust, hinders access and affects reaching those in need of aid.

Over the past few days, I have wondered why Khartoum recently made a point of complaining to the press about aid workers and entry into Sudan. One wonders what agencies like MSF, Oxfam, Save the Children UK and others, including UN and AU workers, are thinking about Brian Steidle and his sister who appear either irresponsible or dangerously naive. There are ways of getting news into the press but publicising already reported news and showing photos [which not even the UN has done] obtained through working for the US State Department, US contractors in Sudan and the African Union is something that aid workers and others concerned over Sudan go to great lengths not become involved with. It's no wonder Khartoum does not trust any foreigners entering Sudan, even those from the African Union. Last year, the British government warned that one needs to be careful because Khartoum could take it upon themselves to deny access to anyone entering Sudan and dismiss aid workers from the country as it has done in the past. You have to wonder if the US government has given Brian Steidle the green light. But why? Could oil have anything to do with it? Nothing would surprise me about what goes on in Africa these days.

I've only recently discovered that Marathon Oil company, based in Houston, Texas, USA [the home state of US President George W Bush] is a partner of the French Total Corp., which holds longstanding oil leases in a southern area of Sudan marked by fierce fighting throughout a 21-year war. Associated Press reported recently that Marathon, a major contributor to the Bush re-election campaign, has resumed payments to the Khartoum government and will be part of Total's operations in the oil fields.

John Garang and his Southern Sudan rebels recently negotiated an oil agreement, involving the same area assigned to French Total, with a new British oil company called White Nile. It looks like the deal is in the midst of being settled - or not. Khartoum says Sudan's contract with French Total still stands and that the former South Sudan rebels SPLM, soon to installed in charge of Southern Sudan, are not authorised to agree oil contracts for South Sudan, that supersede existing agreements, without first going through and getting approval within central government. More on this at a later date.

And then there is the business of bringing Sudan's war criminals to court. The UN Security Council may, within the next week, announce a new resolution on Sudan. The weeks of delay could be all part of the strategy, adding pressure on Khartoum anticipating billions of dollars in aid and development funding. Thing is, I have yet to read one word about how anyone will physically get Sudan's war criminals to whatever court is decided. It would be best if the regime in Khartoum stepped down before it is overthrown. Pressure needs to be put on the individual war criminals, name and shame them all, in particular Sudan's President Bashir, recently listed as the world's worst dictator, and his Vice-President Taha.

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Sudan: Darfur Mortality 380,000 + 15,000 deaths per month

During an intermission of posting at this blog, please read a March 11 report by an American academic and Sudan expert, Prof Eric Reeves, whose Darfur updates and analyses over the past year have proved extremely accurate. It is an analysis of the situation to date and is a must read. Here is an excerpt:

"Building on eleven previous assessments of global mortality in Darfur, this analysis finds that approximately 380,000 human beings have died as a result of the conflict that erupted in February 2003, and that the current conflict-related mortality rate in the larger humanitarian theater is approximately 15,000 deaths per month. This monthly rate is poised to grow rapidly in light of famine conditions now obtaining in various parts of rural Darfur and threatening the entire region."

Full Story via Sudan Tribune, March 12, 2005.
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UK to mediate between Sudanese government, rebel Beja Congress

The following material is provided by the BBC Monitoring Service via Sudan Tribune Mar 12, 2005:

The secretary-general of the Beja Congress, Abdallah Kunah, has disclosed that his organization and that of the Free Lions have accepted to go into peace negotiations with the government in the framework of the British initiative. He said that the talks will commence after the conclusion of the conference of the Beja Congress on 17 March.

In a statement to the Khartoum based Al-Sahafah newspaper via telephone from his residence in Eritrea, Kunah further said that the British ambassador in Asmara has proposed an initiative to sponsor the talks between the government and the Beja Congress and the Free Lions.

He said that during his meeting with the leaders of the two groups recently, the British diplomat asked the two groups the possibility of holding a procedural meeting between the three sides on 15 March.

He further said that the Beja Congress excused itself on the proposed date because it is preoccupied in its annual general meeting which will start on 17 March in the areas under its control. He also confirmed the acceptance of the Beja Congress and the Free Lions to participate in the talks at the said date.

Kunah further said he requested the British diplomat to give his organization copy of the written initiative in order to assess and respond to it.

Kunah also disclosed that Jan Pronk, the UN secretary-general's representative in Khartoum, has proposed holding of a general conference on the problems in east and west of the country after the formation of the a transitional government which will include the Sudan People Liberation Movement.
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AU to assess Darfur

11 March Reuters (SA) report 11:

The African Union sent a delegation to Sudan's Darfur on Friday on a 10-day mission to assess the political, security and humanitarian needs in the troubled region.

The delegation is headed by AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Said Djinnit, includes AU mission in Sudan chief Baba Gana Kingibe, as well as officials from the United States, United Nations and European Union, the AU said in a statement.

Before leaving Khartoum, the delegation held talks with Sudanese officials and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Representative in Sudan Jan Pronk about how to bolster the AU's peacekeeping role in Darfur.

The statement said the AU has 2,061 monitors and military observers in addition to 112 civilian police personnel deployed in Darfur, a region in western Sudan around the size of France.

On its first major peacekeeping operation, the pan-African body has been struggling to deploy troops rapidly and has failed to stem the violence on the ground.

Several rights groups have charged the AU force lacks broad international support and financial backing.
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Sudan urges int'l community to press Darfur rebels for peace talks

12 March (Xinhua) via Sudan Tribune:

The Sudanese government on Saturday urged the international community to press Darfur rebels for the resumption of peace talks.

[In my view, resumption of talks is the fastest and only way to stop the violence in Sudan. The regime in Khartoum and Sudan's rebels could, if they wished, stop the killing and violence. The UN ought to demand the warring parties cease their violence and the leaders of all sides - including tribal leaders - get together and keep talking until they have agreed a peace pact ... or else.]

Darfur rebels listen to radio
A member of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), listens to a radio at Dorsa village in west Darfur , October 10, 2004. (Reuters).
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Hoping for a Sudanese golden age

To get an idea of what is happening in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, please see March 12, 2005, report by the BBC's correspondent in Khartoum, Jonathan Fryer, that explains why the locals are upbeat about Sudan's prospects.

[Note, the report says the Chinese and Malaysians have both built smart residential hotels for their nationals on the banks of the Nile. A son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi is constructing a huge five-star establishment alongside, ready for the day when Khartoum becomes the new boom-town. And, next to the sleepy old Sailing Club, where Lord Kitchener's rusting gunboat is preserved as a surreal reminder of the 1898 Battle of Omdurman, the Chinese have built a social club called Oil House.]
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World Bank poised to re-engage in Sudan

13 March, 2005 Bank Information Center USA report extract:

Absent from Sudan since 1993, the World Bank plans to start lending to the country again this year in anticipation of huge reconstruction efforts.  Just months after a peace agreement was signed between the government in Khartoum and rebels in southern Sudan, the World Bank is preparing an assessment of the country's reconstruction for a meeting of donors in April and discussing plans to manage foreign aid to Sudan through trusts funds.  Debt relief for the war-torn country is a priority concern; according to some reports, the country has a $25 billion debt which would have to be reduced to $6 billion before relations with the World Bank could resume.

This apparent "rush to reengage" must be viewed in the context of a likely increase in oil production in Sudan in the coming years and the economic impacts of a new revenue-sharing arrangement for oil proceeds, which will sharply increase resource flows to southern Sudan, as well as ongoing conflict in Darfur and regional instability.

For more information, see the following articles:

World Bank considers relations with Khartoum (Sudan Tribune, March 12, 2005)

World Bank, Sudan seen resuming relations within year
(Katie Nguyen (Reuters) Sudan Tribune, March 9, 2005)

World Bank returns to Sudan as donors plan comeback
(Lesley Wroughton, Reuters, Sudan Tribune, January 18, 2005)
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The Third World's Odious Debt

Note Africa Commission report analysis by BBC News March 11, 2005.
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Rape and Sexual Violence Ongoing in Darfur

11 March, 2005, report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), extract:

Women and girls in Darfur are continuing to suffer a high incidence of rape and sexual violence, according to a report issued today by Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Stories of rape survivors told to MSF are a horrific illustration of the daily reality of the ongoing violence that has displaced two million people in Darfur.

Between October 2004 and mid-February 2005, MSF doctors in numerous locations in South and West Darfur treated almost 500 women and girls who were raped. MSF believes that these numbers reflect only a fraction of the total number of victims because many women are reluctant to report the crime or seek treatment. Almost a third (28%) of the rape survivors who sought treatment from MSF reported that they were raped more than once, either by single or multiple assailants. In more than half the cases, the rape was accompanied by additional physical abuse. Women told MSF that they were beaten with sticks, whips or axes before, during or after the act of rape. Some of the raped women were visibly pregnant, as much as five to eight months, at the time of the assault.

The majority of survivors of rape and sexual violence tell MSF that the attacks occurred when women left the relative safety of villages and displaced camps to carry out activities indispensable of the survival of the families, such as searching for firewood or water.

81% of the 500 rape survivors treated by MSF reported being assaulted by militia or military who used their weapons to force the assault. In Darfur, as in other conflicts, rape has been a regular and deliberate tool of war. It is used to destabilize and threaten a part of the civilian population, often a particular group.

Rather than receiving appropriate medical and psychosocial care, women and child survivors of rape and sexual violence in Darfur often face rejection and stigma. In some cases, victims of rape have even been imprisoned while the perpetrators of the crime go unpunished, adding to an appalling pattern of neglect and abuse.

"Despite its devastating consequences, rape in Darfur and in other conflicts has not received the attention that the scale of the crime or the gravity of its impact call for," said Kenny Gluck, director of operations for MSF in Amsterdam. "This has to change. It is time to end this vicious crime, which is a clear breach of international humanitarian law. Perpetrators should be prosecuted not tolerated."

MSF urges local government and other health care providers in Darfur, as elsewhere, to ensure full and appropriate treatment for victims of sexual violence and to help end the stigma and rejection faced by victims of rape.
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FT breakfasts with Dallaire: Everything humanely possible

See Financial Times report by Craig Offman, March 11, 2005.
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Fear Drives Long Trek to Kenya from Darfur

Note the last few lines of the following Reuters report, dated 12 March, 2005, by C. Bryson Hull in Kenya:

Fear propelled Mohammed Ahmed Osman's two-year, 1,120-mile flight from Sudan's Darfur region to Kenya, but anger, he says, will bring him home.

The farmer never imagined Kenya, to where thousands of fellow Sudanese from the south fled in a 21-year civil war, would be his first taste of safety after marauders slaughtered most of his village in a separate conflict in western Sudan in November 2002.

But by foot, plane, train, truck and donkey, Ahmed and 21 friends and family criss-crossed Sudan and arrived in Kakuma camp in northwestern Kenya, the dusty desert home to 86,000 refugees from eight African countries.

Nearly 60 percent are Sudanese, but Ahmed's group makes up just over half of the 42 refugees in Kakuma from the Darfur crisis that has pitted non-Arab rebels against Arab militias. Nearly all the Sudanese in Kakuma fled the civil war in nearby southern Sudan.

"If I go back to Darfur, I will kill the Arabs. If I had power, I would go. We have no power here," he said, standing in front of his home of just a few weeks in Kakuma Three, the last built of three mud-hut complexes set atop red-tinged sands.

"We did not want to come to Kenya. We did not know about it," Ahmed said.

Terror sparked his flight in November 2002, when marauding militiamen known as Janjaweed torched his north Darfur village, Masmaji, killing his two brothers, his parents, three nieces and dozens of neighbors.

"They came at night and burned the houses and they went back and shot anyone who ran away from the fire. They took children around the back and shot them," he said.

"NOT THE TRUTH"

Ahmed, his wife and three children were out in their sorghum fields when the raiders came, and they only returned to their razed, lifeless village two days later.

They fled for nearby Habila but, warned of impending Janjaweed attacks, they moved again.

"I decided to go to Chad, because it was near, but the Janjaweed cut the way," he said.

Their next stops were the larger Darfur towns of El Fasher and Nyala, but a few months in each with no fields to tend left the farmer in Ahmed frustrated, and his family hungry.

He bought train tickets for Khartoum, looking to go to its squalid squatter camps. Police at the train station had different ideas. Ordered to give his reasons for traveling, Ahmed replied that there was war at home.

"The security said 'That is not the truth. You must go back to Darfur."'

They ordered him to take the next train home, in two days, or go to prison. But luck rumbled into town. "We stopped a lorry and the driver we knew from Darfur," he said.

Taking sympathy, the driver arranged to pick up Ahmed's family 1 mile out of town that night. Driving only in the darkness for two nights, the trucker drove them 145 miles to Kadugli, near the Nuba mountains in south Sudan.

A day later, Ahmed and his starving companions, among them his severely malnourished 3-year-old son, arrived by truck in Kauda, a stronghold of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

It was just two weeks after the former rebel group had signed a landmark peace agreement with the government, ending Africa's longest-running civil war.

"We've just stopped the war here. We have nothing to give you," Ahmed said the SPLM told him. But they arranged for his group's passage to Kakuma, where many thousands of southern Sudanese had fled the long war in their region.

Ahmed said he wishes for an end to the violence racking his homeland, but his anger now is greater than his capacity to forgive.

"We, the black man and the Arab, cannot live together. If the war stopped, we cannot live together, because they did bad things. If I went back to Darfur, I would kill all Arab people," he said, his hand trembling.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

The case of Darfur, Sudan makes clear the limits of media attention alone

Gareth Evans, president of Belgian-based thinktank International Crisis Group, writes the following for AlertNet March 9, 2005, titled "Media short-sightedness is truly staggering":

To find many of the world's "forgotten" humanitarian emergencies, one only need look at some of the world's forgotten conflicts. In some cases, it is truly staggering what the mainstream media are missing.

As an organisation working to prevent and reduce deadly conflict worldwide, the International Crisis Group spends a good deal of effort trying to bring international attention to the conflicts that cause so many avoidable humanitarian emergencies.

For some conflicts this is easier than for others, especially over the last two or three years.

One television news producer we met in the U.S. summed the situation since spring 2003 this way: "Look, we've got three foreign news priorities these days: Iraq, Iraq and Iraq".

And Iraq is not simply an American obsession: we've heard a similar refrain from news producers and newspaper editors again and again throughout Europe and elsewhere.

Of course, few would say Iraq doesn't deserve the top foreign news spot; it has been the main international news story not only because of its daily violence but also because of post-Saddam Iraq's long-term implications for the rest of the region.

Iraq is not the only story, however, as the average mass media consumer could almost be forgiven for thinking over the past two years. The world's obsession with Iraq has pushed to the margins many other scenes of mass violence.

A BLIP ON THE RADAR SCREEN

One good example is Nepal, home of the deadliest conflict in Asia, with some 10,000 killed over the past few years. Before the coup on 1 February 2005, how often did television crews bother to cover the expanding Maoist insurgency there?

How many articles did the Western press carry about the widespread human rights abuses and disappearances at the hands of the Royal Nepalese Army?

Nepal has simply been off the radar screen of the world media, and even now, the coup story itself seems to have appeared only as a rapidly fading blip.

Another under-reported conflict is in Uganda, where the rebel Lord's Resistance Army -- half guerrilla movement, half cult -- has fought government forces and made repeated brutal raids against civilians, displacing 1.6 million people and forcing thousands of abducted children to serve as their rank-and-file soldiers.

Uganda is now set to be the subject of the International Criminal Court's first full investigation into crimes against humanity.

And the media coverage of this ongoing tragedy internationally? Almost nothing.

The Deomocratic Republic of the Congo is another long-standing conflict in Central Africa that gets very little international attention apart perhaps from a single story in the quality broadsheets when Rwanda threatens to invade its massive neighbour.

This is a country, remember, where some three million people died as a result of the 1998-2000 war -- mostly due to the resulting hunger and disease -- and where the failure to demobilise former combatants and the failure to stick to the calendar of a transitional political process threaten the country with a return to all-out war.

WAR IN PEACETIME

In fact, for the eastern part of the country, the war is still really going on, and the human cost of violence is reliably reported at 1000 deaths a day (in combatant deaths and indirect "excess" deaths due to the war).

Still, the world media have by and large shown no interest in the Congo whatsoever.

And then there are the potential conflicts and humanitarian crises in Central Asia and the frozen conflicts in the Caucasus that could always hot up at any time.

The lack of international attention in such places only allows the precursors of mass violence to continue festering.

When things explode, foreign correspondents will no doubt be parachuted in to ask why no one saw this coming, when the truth is, quite a number of us in the international community have long been calling for more attention and more concerted effort to defuse the coming conflict.

The media had simply chosen to point their cameras elsewhere.

No one should get the impression this is only a problem of the Western media; it is universal.

The Arabic-language media, for example, have consistently ignored or under-reported the underlying causes of the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, and the massive humanitarian catastrophe that has resulted.

A UNIVERSAL PROBLEM

With very few exceptions, the national television stations and even the freer international newspapers simply toe the Sudanese government's line, not mentioning at all Khartoum's strong backing of the Janjaweed militias who have destroyed hundreds of villages, killed tens of thousands of people, and driven millions more from their homes.

But the case of Darfur also makes clear the limits of media attention alone. In the Western world, the situation in Darfur is now relatively well-known: compared to one year ago, when news reports were only just a few threads, we now see the full fabric of Darfur's horrors on television and in print almost daily.

This hard-won international attention has been essential for getting additional humanitarian relief into Darfur's IDP camps and the refugee camps in neighbouring Chad, but it has done nothing to stop the ongoing killing or return people to their homes.

Three feeble U.N. Security Council resolutions over the past year applied no serious pressure on the government of Sudan to stop its support of those committing the most brutal atrocities.

There are clearly conflicts that deserve more international media than they get, but we also have to be realistic: sometimes, media attention is not enough.

http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources/111039372281.htm

UN joins African Union to assess peacekeeping needs in Darfur, Sudan - Bracing for Bolton

New York, 8 March - See UN news centre report and this excerpt from the Secretary-General's off the cuff remarks:

Reporter's question to Secretary-General Kofi Annan: On Sudan, you called the Security Council members. The UN is doing a lot of hand-wringing on the subject, but you called Security Council members into a meeting. Can you tell us why you did that, what you discussed, and what specifically are you advocating right now, whether it's the African Union, at one point you mentioned NATO? Get more specific maybe on what it is you think needs to be done.

Mr Annan's answer: I think, basically, what I discussed with the Council is something that everybody was aware of, that we are concerned that we are not moving fast enough in Darfur. We are concerned that the atrocities have not stopped. We are concerned that we are not gaining access to all those in need. We are concerned that the parties are not respecting the ceasefire. The question is what measures should be taken to create a secure environment. And we looked at various options. Of course, the African Union forces are on the ground. From all accounts, they are effective where they are, but there are very few of them. So we need to increase the numbers either by helping the African Union to strengthen the force and also give them logistical and financial support. They need communications. They have very few trucks, planes, cars. And we need to sort of help them to do the work if we expect them to do it. And if we come to the conclusion that they need additional help and they are not provide it themselves, what should be the responsibility of the international community? Should the UN send in troops to co-deploy with them, to cover Darfur? Should the UN eventually take over that operation? Should eventually a multinational force be considered? These are all options that were on the table. Of course, we know the pros and cons of each of the options. And of course, I also indicated that we are sending a mission which will be led by the African Union to Darfur to assess the situation on the ground. The European Union and US would also have members on the team. And after that mission, we'll do a serious reassessment of what needs to be done.

And I also indicated that we were all very happy when the Naivasha agreement was signed, but we do not have enough money to help the returning refugees. They are returning spontaneously. We have asked for $500 million and we got five percent of that amount. So we have managed to get a political agreement, but we are not doing enough on the ground to make sure the agreement holds. So we also did appeal for additional resources generally, and of course, we are going to deploy the 10,000 UN troops in the south.

And I was also concerned that if we did not take measures to strengthen the operations in Darfur, it's going to look very awkward that you have 10,000 troops in the south where it is safe, but you don't have enough troops in Darfur where the fighting is going on and protection and security of the people is urgent. So these are some of the issues that we discussed.
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Bracing for Bolton - Dismay as US sends hawk to UN

The shock appointment of hardline neo-conservative John Bolton as US ambassador to the UN stunned the diplomatic community yesterday and raised questions about George W. Bush's commitment to work constructively for reform of the world body in its 60th anniversary year. His appointment must be ratified by the US Senate, where there is sure to be some opposition.

"Why would (President Bush) choose someone who has expressed such disdain for working with our allies?," said Senator John Kerry, who lost last year's election to Mr Bush. Full Story - 9 March, 2005 - Herald Sun - by David Nason in New York.
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The U.S. cannot act effectively if it acts alone

During the 2004 election, President Bush's refusal to acknowledge having made any missteps during his first term was seen as shrewd politics.  The appointment of Bolton suggests that it is something more:  that Bush really does dismiss the concerns of critics around the world, that he believes the US. can and should go it alone.  The UN will be one casualty.  US interests will be another. Full Story 8 March - Center for American Progress - by Suzanne Nossel in New York.

Suzanne Nossel served as Deputy to the Ambassador for UN Management and Reform at the US Mission to the United Nations in 1999-2001. Nossel is currently an executive at a media company in New York City, and writes frequently on foreign policy issues.

Further reading: Who Is John Bolton? [Oh dear ... how disappointing ... and scary ... he sounds like a disaster]
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UPDATE: 9 March: FT in America Firster says today: Mr Bolton is hardly likely to re-invent himself as a born-again multilateralist. But if US policy were to be changed in that direction by the decision-makers in Washington, it would carry more weight with the UN's many critics on the Republican right if it came out of the mouth of Mr Bolton. The dispatch of one of Washington's staunchest unilateralists to the UN may yet turn out an inspired decision. But the onus will be on Mr Bolton and his masters in Washington to prove this so. [Let's hope it turns out an inspired decision]

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Sudan: U.S. will agree to allow Darfur cases go to the ICC

Following yesterday's one-hour Security Council meeting held behind closed doors, a report today in the Guardian by its diplomatic editor Ewen MacAskill, says:
"The British government is to back punitive measures against the Sudanese government after losing patience over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Until now the Foreign Office has argued that persuasion was more productive than sanctions and other measures. But a British government source said: "We have run out of patience. It would be incredible if the international community continued to just wave a finger."
Well, it looks like the international community is continuing to just wave a finger. Read the report carefully and you will see why the Guardian's headline "Britain backs UN sanctions after losing patience in Sudan crisis" is not as action packed as it sounds. However, it seems the one big thing to come out of the meeting is about sending the accused war criminals to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The Guardian report states:
"The most important measure in a United Nations security council resolution this week will be to send those accused of crimes against humanity to the International criminal court, according to diplomatic sources. In a big concession to international opinion, the US will agree to allow Darfur cases to go to the ICC, the sources add. The US has strenuously opposed the court, but is now prepared to abstain in the security council.

Other measures include the setting up of a sanctions committee to target individuals in the Sudanese government, as well as some rebels. But the proposed sanctions have been watered down in horsetrading between Britain, the US, China and Russia.

The US, backed by Britain, circulated a draft resolution to extend an arms embargo, freeze assets of individuals accused of major crimes and impose travel bans on the same individuals. China and Russia, which have economic ties to the Sudanese government, have agreed to the setting up of a UN sanctions committee to identify those who should be targeted. But, in return, plans for the extended arms ban and freeze on assets have been dropped, with only the travel ban remaining."
Note, a travel ban on those who are on the UN's sealed list of suspected Darfur war criminals [reportedly, the list includes ten members of Bashir's genocidal regime] is unlikely to be imposed because Khartoum has in the past threatened reciprocal measures. Who knows, banning entry into Sudan could include UN officials, and even aid workers, even though the UN is currently in the process of setting up offices in Southern Sudan. [Not to mention the attendance of oil deal meetings .... more on oil dealings in Sudan in a forthcoming post.

"Men and women are two wheels of a chariot"

Education, leadership crucial for refugee girls and women UNHCR says on International Women's Day.
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My thoughts on the following opinion piece by Margaret Vuchiri are about why there is such a thing as a "Women's Day" and why there appears to be no need for a "Men's Day." If there was such a thing, and you phoned a male friend to ask how he intended to spend Men's Day, what would you expect him to say? I'd expect most would treat it like some sort of Fathers Day, and give themselves a pat on the back and go eat, drink and play and make some more mess somewhere, or do a bit of wheeling and dealing, hooting and hollering, fighting, bombing, mugging, pillaging, looting, killing and raping ... Heh. You guys are something else [which is why you don't deserve a Men's Day!]

For Women's Day March 8, please click here to read an Op-Ed by Margaret Vuchiri in Kampala, titled "Has Feminism Failed to Feminise Society?"
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The following three items are a copy of one of my favourite posts that I published at this blog on September 14, 2004:

TUTU'S MESSAGE OF WISDOM: Women should rule the world

Desmond Tutu, in his message of wisdom, writes:

"When we heard the revelations of unspeakable atrocities committed during the apartheid era we were appalled at how low we human beings can sink, that we had this horrendous capacity for evil, all of us.

Then we heard the moving stories of the victims of those and other atrocities relating how despite all they had suffered they were willing to forgive their tormentors, revealing a breathtaking magnanimity and generosity of spirit, then we realised that we have a wonderful capacity for good.

Yes people are fundamentally good. They, we, are made for love, generosity, sharing, compassion - for transcendence.

We are made to reach for the stars."

Desmond Tutu.

[Source: Courtesy "Tutu's handwritten message of wisdom" Hands That Shape Humanity]
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'WOMEN SHOULD RULE THE WORLD' -
Desmond Tutu suggests a "feminine revolution" takes place

Women should rule the world said Desmond Tutu speaking at a signing ceremony between the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust and the City of Cape Town.

Former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu on Tuesday waxed lyrical about women, suggesting that a "feminine revolution" take place so that the fairer sex can rule the world.

Tutu was speaking at a signing ceremony between the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust and the City of Cape Town which brought a step closer the erection of a building bearing his name in the city CBD.

"Some of the best initiatives are those that occur because women are involved... It is almost a tacit acknowledgement of the crucial role that women play in nurturing, nurturing life," said Tutu in his tribute to women a day after Women's Day.

Tutu, who was seemingly mentally spurred on by Cape Town's sobriquet "Mother City", said that men had been given centuries to rule the world, but "have made a heck of a mess of things".

Tutu said the revolution he referred was one of women who were not afraid to be feminine, and who did not ape men in, for example, the stereotypical aggression.

"This revolution... is the last, best chance for making this globe hospitable to peace, to make this globe hospitable to compassion, hospitable to generosity and caring," he said. [More]
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Here's a snippet found on the internet:

" ... A billionaire media baron has taken a step to demonstrate his belief that women should run the world because men have "mucked it up" with too much warfare and military spending.

The United Nations Foundation Ted Turner established six years ago to distribute the £1 billion he pledged to UN causes has a new female-dominated board of directors.

"I've said for years and I'm really serious about it, I think men should be barred from holding public office for 100 years. The men have been running the world for too long and they've made a mess of it. ..."

Monday, March 07, 2005

Tens of thousands raped in Darfur, Congo, Uganda. In honour of Women's Day, please take a stand for crimes against humanity

Today, March 8, is International Women's Day and there is no let up in sexual violence in Darfur says MSF.

People around the world must take action on behalf of the tens of thousands of women suffering from continued violence in places such as Darfur, DRC and Uganda. Please read a report at the Sudan Tribune, by Natalie Spicyn and Cathy Sweetser, Yale Daily News, March 5, 2005.

Note, when reading the report, please bear in mind Reuters reported yesterday that tens of thousands have been raped in East Congo and the victims were aged between 4 months and 80. Some rapists in Sudan use razor blades to cut the clitoris and vaginas of their victims immediately before raping.
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Note, a post at my Congo Watch blog features today's report by Reuters titled "Tens of thousands raped in East Congo" and highlights the plight of Congolese rape victims aged between 4 months and 80.

The men of this world just do not seem to be listening or helping enough. Perhaps the most effective way to get the message across real quick to men that they must do everything possible to protect women and children from such horrific violence, is for females to silently protest by withholding love and sex from their male partners. Heh. Listen up guys, I'm serious. In the olden days there were eunuchs you know ...

Sunday, March 06, 2005

UN to discuss South Sudan and Darfur on Monday 7 March

The UN Security Council is set to meet tomorrow to discuss a comprehensive UN resolution that includes south Sudan, and Darfur in west Sudan.

France, Britain and other council members from Europe have demanded the resolution be amended to include provisions referring the crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court but the request was rejected by the US, a strong opponent of The Hague-based court, says China View on 4 March.

Plans to deploy troops from Jordan and Malaysia as part of a force of 10,000 UN peacekeepers to monitor the ceasefire were unacceptable to the south Sudan SPLM/A group and had been dropped, SPLM/A chief commander told Reuters late on Friday.

Troops from Egypt, India, Zambia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Kenya had been accepted but the force should come with a full peacekeeping mandate rather than one simply to monitor the ceasefire, he added.

The SPLM/A would prefer separate UN resolutions on south Sudan and Darfur, rather than the comprehensive one being debated, he said.
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UN's humanitarian chief visits Southern Sudan and Darfur

On Thursday March 3, the UN's top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, arrived in Sudan on a five-day visit to assess the situation in south Sudan and Darfur in west Sudan.

The next day, Mr Egeland visited Rumbek in southern Sudan, where he spoke to officials with UN aid agencies and partner non-governmental organizations. He met members of the SPLM/A, visited the town of Malualkon in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, and met African Union reps during his visit to South Darfur state, as well as local authorities, aid workers and affected civilians.

On his visit to the south, Mr Egeland said the needs were overwhelming. He said just 5% of the required funds required have so far been given. Southern Sudan is one of the poorest places on earth. Life expectancy is just 42 years and only a quarter of the population can read. Any infrastructure that did exist was destroyed by the long civil war between the black African south and the Arab north. With the ending of that war in January, hopes were high that the south would begin to put the conflict behind them, and roads, hospitals and schools would all be built.

Sudan asked for over $500m from the international community but so far they have given just $24m.

"I fear the world is making a historic mistake here in southern Sudan," the BBC quotes Mr Egeland as saying during his trip to the region: "Now we have a peace agreement. Now we have three, four months of cementing that peace agreement. We are not getting the money, neither for the refugees returning to southern Sudan or to the impoverished war stricken population in this area." "The world has to respond. It is unbelievable that they are waiting," he added.

The BBC report explains that other humanitarian appeals have diverted money away. The Asian tsunami and the Darfur crisis have both been much more successful at raising funds. A donor conference for the south is due to be held in Norway next month. Having pushed hard for the civil war to end, the people of southern Sudan will hope the international community has not forgotten them in times of peace. - BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4322751.stm
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UN's top envoy says Sudan's army and Janjaweed remain linked

In a report from Berlin on Thursday 3 March, the UN's top envoy for Sudan, Jan Pronk, was quoted as saying the Sudanese army and the Janjaweed militia it had backed had stopped open cooperation. But they remain linked, he said. "And the result is (ethnic) cleansing, and that has to stop."

The report also quotes a German official saying that Chinese oil interests are a problem in the Security Council. And that both China and Russia oppose sanctions against the Khartoum regime, which is a major oil source.
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Ambassador denies Sudan backed atrocities

On Thursday March 3, Sudan's ambassador to the US, Khidir Haroun Ahmed, told reporters that his government "has never given any license to kill or to burn or to loot in that part of the country."

Mr Ahmed also warned the US to drop threats to impose sanctions against Sudan unless the government cracks down on the Janjaweed and other militia groups.

He said the threatened sanctions encouraged the rebels. The rebel groups "will never negotiate ... if there is a sword hanging over the head of the government. This is not the way of making peace," Ahmed said.

Instead of threatening sanctions, he said, the US should pressure rebel groups to negotiate and press Western nations to follow through on pledges of aid to Darfur.
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Darfur attacks 'led by Khartoum'

On Thursday March 3, the day after the US envoy to Sudan, Charles Snyder, left Khartoum, Human Rights Watch, a New York-based human rights group, issued a press release saying that Musa Hilal, a leader of an Arab militia operating in Darfur, said in a videotaped interview, "All the people in the field are led by top army commanders." Full Story by Bill Nichols, USA Today 3/3. Also, the BBC reports:

Musa Hilal, named by the US as a Janjaweed leader, told the [HRW] group that militia attacks on ethnic Africans were directed by Sudanese army commanders.

"These people get their orders... from Khartoum," he said in an interview transcript released by the group.

The Sudanese government has strongly denied supporting the militias.

Human Rights Watch said Mr Hilal made the allegations during a videotaped interview in Arabic, conducted in September last year. The group released part of the interview on Wednesday, saying that translation and formatting of the tape had delayed its publication.

Mr Hilal is one of seven people accused by the US state department of being leaders of the Arab Janjaweed militia. But in a BBC interview in November last year, he said he was simply a mayoral figure with no links with the military.

The Janjaweed are alleged to have killed thousands and used mass rape against non-Arab groups. Sudan's government and the Arab militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the United Nations has stopped short of terming it a genocide.

Further reading

March 3 Independent UK: Sudan ordered death squads, says warlord Musa Hilal
March 3 allAfrica.com Op-Ed by Peter Deselaers in Berlin: EU Fails to Agree Steps to End Killing
March 2 New York Times Op-Ed by Nicholas D. Kristof: "The American Witness"
March 2 Daily Kos: What is more important than stopping genocide?
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US envoy visits Sudan on bilateral ties, peace deal

On Tuesday March 1, US envoy to Sudan Charles Snyder arrived in Khartoum for talks with Sudanese officials.

Mr Snyder met with Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail Wednesday March 2 on bilateral ties, the implementation of the peace deal for southern Sudan, and the situation in Darfur.

Ismail expressed hope that his meeting with the US envoy would be fruitful and successful. Full Story at China View, March 1, 2005.

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Photo: US envoy to Sudan Charles Snyder

On Wednesday March 2, US envoy to Sudan Charles Snyder announced in Khartoum that Washington "is looking for promoting its diplomatic representation in Khartoum to ambassador level by the coming autumn following improvements of the situations in Darfur."

Mr Snyder concluded his two-day visit to Sudan on Wednesday evening after meeting with a number of Sudanese officials including Sudanese First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha. Full Story at China News, March 2, 2005.
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Khartoum 'astonished' by US push for sanctions over Darfur

On Wednesday March 2, the Sudanese government voiced its displeasure at the latest US proposition for UN sanctions over Khartoum's handling of the crisis in Darfur.

"We have communicated ... our astonishment over the US administration's position of seeking to impose sanctions on Sudan and, at the same time, considering normalisation of ties," an official said after a visit by US State Department Adviser for Sudan Charles Snyder.

Sudanese foreign ministry official Mohammed Amin al-Karib that during his visit Snyder had promised that the draft resolution proposing sanctions would be "mitigated". Full Story AFP Geneva, March 2, 2005.
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Obasanjo meets Sudan's VP over Darfur crisis

On Monday Feb 28, African Union chairman, Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, met Sudan's first vice president Ali Taha over the crisis in Darfur. The meeting was a follow-up to the one that Obasanjo had with Sudan's President Bashir on February 16 at Abuja.

Taha's delegation presented to Obasanjo a report of the National Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, prepared by the government in Khartoum. Obasanjo and the delegation "discussed ways of adjudication, criminal justice and reconciliation in Darfur.

After talks with Bashir last February 16, Obasanjo said that he had been convinced by the Sudanese leader that the situation in Darfur was improving. "Things are looking greatly better in Darfur," Obasanjo said, adding he hoped that AU-sponsored peace talks, which are to resume in Abuja, would bear fruit and that settlement would be reached.

Obasanjo has made it clear that he hopes that Africa can resolve the crisis without outside intervention. - via AFP report Feb 28, 2005.
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African Union says Sudanese officials may not be behind North Darfur abuses

On Monday Feb 28, Reuters reported that the African Union said Sudanese officials may not be behind North Darfur abuses.

"It is believed that these banditry activities might have been perpetrated by some unscrupulous members of all the groups ... that are outside the control of their leadership," said Colonel Awwal Usman Mohammed, an AU commander in North Darfur state.

Janjaweed militias, who aid workers and the rebels say are supported by the government, have been accused of attacking civilians.

"I believe there is a total lack of control ... Even the Janjaweed, I don't think the government of Sudan actually sanctions what they do," Mohammed said.

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Photo: A Rwandan African Union soldier patrols at Abushouk camp near El Fasher in North Darfur, Nov 3 (AFP).
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Boschwitz chosen as Human Rights Ambassador

On Saturday March 5, American news reports said US Senator from Minnesota, Rudy Boschwitz, has been chosen as Ambassador to the UN Commission on Human Rights. According to one report, "he would try to steer the Commission on Human Rights in a direction more favourable to the United States."

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[More favourable to the United States? One wonders what other people outside of America think, when they read such a statement]
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Chinese attitudes towards the USA

EastSouthWestNorth blog reports on an opinion poll on the attitudes of Chinese towards America. Some highlights:

How satisfied are you with Sino-American relationship:
- 52% somewhat satisfied
- 18% satisfied
- 1% very satisfied

How do you like the American people?
- 53% somewhat like
- 13% like

What is America to China?
- 49% a competitor
- 26% a cooperative partner
- 12% an example to emulate
- 10% a friendly country

Do you think America is trying to contain China?
- 57% yes

What is the biggest problem that will affect the Sino-American relationship?
- 61% Taiwan

What is the likelihood of conflict between America and China over the Taiwan issue?
- 41% somewhat likely
- 12% likely

What don't you like about the American government?
- 38% selling arms to Taiwan
- 32% starting the war in Iraq under false pretenses
- 8% strenghtening military ties with Japan

Why is America so concerned about human rights in China?
- 49% to disrupt the stability of China
- 19% Americans just don't understand China
- 15% to promote democracy in China
- 10% to denigrate China

What do you admire about America?
- 44% science and technology
- 21% system of government and law
- 18% economic prosperity

Do you accept American cultural products?
- 32% can accept, but too far removed from own lifestyle
- 28% enjoy very much

How do you find out about America?
- 64% media
- 21% American movies
- 7% direct contact with Americans

[Source: Blood & Treasure: what the Chinese think]

Further reading:

6 March The Korea Times Will China Cause Trans-Atlantic Rift? by Philip Dorsey Iglauer: The embargo never kept dangerous weapon systems from the possession of China's military.

European arms sells are not nor will they ever be the source of the proliferation of lethal weapons going to China. Lifting the ban will only finally normalize relations between Europe and China. And that is a good thing, a boon to America's long-term interests in the region.

The US must not allow this to become another rift in the trans-Atlantic relationship. The real danger lies with the neo-cons and Francophobes in the Bush administration sounding fire alarms where no fire exists. Moreover, it is misperceptions like those that will in fact hurt NATO, creating differences with Europe when the US should instead be soliciting its help to meet real challenges in Iraq and in the war on terror.

7 March Australian news, China correspondent report, says China hopes EU-supplied firepower will make US think twice.
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Great new blog: "Coalition for Darfur"

Here's wishing American bloggers Eugene Oregon and Feddie best of luck fundraising for Save the Children in their new blog Coalition for Darfur.

As Eugene has posted regular Darfur updates over the past year at his blog Demagogue, he has good in-depth knowledge of what has gone on in Darfur during the past two years. I had linked to Demagogue in my blog, and at Passion of the Present, in the past and look forward to reading and pointing to more posts in the future, like the snappy titled Khartomb.

[via http://passionofthepresent.org]
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Quotation of the Day

Stanford University held a panel discussion on US/UN/Africa relations:

"Most American attitudes on Africa are not deeply fixed in any African reality," Devlin-Foltz said. "When they are lacking information, people will fall back on general principles."

He said he blames television news for the widely-held American view that the world is full of unrelated catastrophic events and that the United States is the only nation that can make a difference.

[Source: Coalition for Darfur]

Sudan: Darfur dead between 200,000 and 300,000

Independent estimates from the Brookings Institution and others now reveal that between 200,000 and 300,000 people have died in Darfur from starvation, disease and violence over the past two years.

via Toronto Star - March 5, 2005 by Simon Rosenblum, Director Public Policy, Canadian Jewish Congress, Toronto.

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BBC photo: Average life expectancy in southern Sudan is just 42 years
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Chad: Work begins on new camp for Sudanese

A British government official recently said the crisis in Darfur will continue for another 18-24 months - which means the Dafuris imprisoned in Chad shan't be going home for a few more years.

Note the UN's figure of 200,000 refugees in Chad has not changed in almost a year, despite a steady influx of thousands of new refugees each month.

Six months ago the UN referred to the death toll in Darfur as totalling 70,000 since March 2003 but fails to update the figure even though at least 5,000-10,000 refugees are dying in the camps each month. How the publicly funded UN gets away with not updating figures is amazing.

The following is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Rupert Colville -- to whom quoted text may be attributed -- at a press briefing, on 1 March 2005, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva:

UNHCR and its partners are starting work this week on a new refugee camp in eastern Chad to accommodate Sudanese refugees who have fled the strife-torn Darfur region. The camp will be the 12th established in eastern Chad, where UNHCR has been searching intensively for sites with sufficient water resources to sustain large numbers of people -- a daunting task in this arid region.

The new camp -- called Gaga -- is located east of the main town of Abeche. Initially, it will accommodate 15,000 refugees who are currently living at the overcrowded camps of Farchana and Bredjing. The new site could also take in refugees who are still living at the border, some 1,500 of whom have expressed the desire to move to a camp.

If the initial estimates of water supply at Gaga are confirmed, the camp could eventually shelter up to 30,000 refugees. But already, preliminary results from drilling done in recent weeks show that the water supply is sufficient to start building a new camp. Local Chadian authorities and traditional leaders have also agreed for a camp to be built in Gaga. UNHCR hopes that the new site will welcome its first refugees in April, before the onset of the rainy season.

In all, more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees live in camps in eastern Chad. The vast majority of the refugees were transferred by UNHCR from the volatile border zone in a major logistics operation over the past year. The two-year-old conflict in Darfur has also uprooted another 1.8 million people within Darfur itself. - via ReliefWeb March 1, 2005.
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Irish aid agency GOAL chief urges Ireland to withdraw from UN

On March 4, the chief executive of the well regarded Irish aid agency GOAL, John O'Shea, called on the Government to withdraw from the United Nations in protest at its lack of action in Darfur.

Mr O'Shea said that the UN was acting cowardly and the Government should make a point by withdrawing from the body.

"We've got to find courage from somewhere and I think if Ireland was to take this stand, maybe one of the bigger governments would applaud it," he said. - IOL March 4, 2005.
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Egyptian actor calls on the Arab world to help Darfur

Here is a rare piece of news: an Arab calls on the Arab world to help Darfur.

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Mahmud Qabil, a prominent Egyptian actor and goodwill ambassador for the UN children's fund shown here in 2002, called on the Arab world to offer more assistance to suffering children in Darfur. (AFP/File/Amro Maraghi) Mar 3

Sudan: Mendez says a "non-consensual" military intervention in Darfur will not improve things

In an interview with IPS, the UN's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan Mendez, discussed the situation in Darfur as well as other aspects of his job. Here is an extract from the transcript published March 2, 2005:

IPS: What is your evaluation of the situation in Sudan?

JUAN MENDEZ: I think it's getting worse. Since September the threat has grown for those displaced by the violence, and there is a greater danger of massive attacks. The military presence of the African Union (AU) has increased, but the local forces that are fighting are getting used to the presence of foreign troops, and are largely able to avoid them. In some cases they have even attacked them.

There have also been attacks on aid workers from humanitarian groups, which is bad enough in and of itself, besides giving rise to the possibility that humanitarian workers could withdraw and leave the people they are helping at even greater risk.

I believe this is a very important time for making decisions, because if we fail to curb the spread of violence, another catastrophe in Darfur could occur, as serious as the one the region suffered from mid-2003 to early 2004, and with unpredictable consequences.

IPS: Have you classified the situation in Darfur as a case of genocide?

JUAN MENDEZ: No, because my task is prevention. It is not up to me to decide on definitions. I am to act when I observe a situation that can lead to genocide if something is not done. If I were to classify the situation as genocide, that means I have arrived too late.

Besides, the task of determining whether or not what is occurring in Darfur amounts to genocide was assigned by the U.N. Security Council to an international commission of inquiry.

IPS: Are you in favour of a military intervention in that region?

JUAN MENDEZ: Despite the gravity of what I have seen, I'm not convinced that a non-consensual military intervention will improve things. On the contrary, it could make them much worse.

I do believe that in some cases the only solution is to send troops. But it must be a last resort, and the possible consequences must be gauged.
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U.S., NATO troops not likely to be sent to Darfur, says Gen. Jones

Yesterday, the top commander of NATO and U.S. forces said it is unlikely alliance troops will be dispatched to Darfur any time soon.

Marine Gen. James Jones told Stars and Stripes that although some key leaders have been pressing for action, no plans are in works to help in Darfur. Full Story at European and Pacific Stars & Stripes, March 5, 2005.
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Ugandan troops on standby for deployment to Darfur

The UPDF has been put on standby for deployment in Darfur, says a report out of Kampala via Sudan Tribune, March 6, 2005.

On March 4, military sources said a battalion-size military force of 1200-1500 soldiers from Uganda has been put on alert for immediate deployment in Darfur. The final decision will come after the conclusion of talks between the UN and the Ugandan Ministry of Defence.

"About 30 officers have been put on standby to lead the mission to Darfur," a reliable military source said, March 4. An assistant chief of staff was said to be handling the operation on behalf of the ministry. And an army and defence spokesman neither confirmed nor denied the Darfur deployment. "I can't tell you its true or not true until I have been briefed," he said.

A military source conversant with the UPDF operations said some of the selected leading UPDF officers have already undergone briefing on the military exercise.

[Note, At the moment there are 1,800 African Union troops in Darfur. A further 1,500 AU troops were expected months ago. The Ugandan soldiers mentioned in the report could be the long awaited battalion. If the report is true, we will find out soon enough]
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Southern Sudan: militia attack former southern rebels SPLM/A?

5 March Rumbek, Sudan (Reuters) report -- Southern Sudanese rebels said militia fighters allied to the northern Khartoum government had attacked them despite a peace deal.
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Southern Sudan rebel leader hopes to solve Darfur crisis ... in July

In July, John Garang, leader of southern Sudan's former rebels SPLM/A will replace President Bashir's right hand man Taha as Sudan's First Vice-President. Mr Garang talked to Reuters yesterday re Darfur, after speaking at an international conference in Brussels. Here is what he said:

"At the end of the day, humanitarian assistance (and) protection of the civilian population will not be enough -- you need a political solution. When the SPLM becomes part of the government ... I believe there is every reason to be optimistic that there will be a solution to Darfur," he said. "You cannot make peace in the south and make war in Darfur," he said. "It is untenable."

Meanwhile, in Sudan, a SPLM/A chief commander told Reuters late on Friday that militia fighters allied to the Khartoum government had attacked positions held by the former rebels, warning it could undermine the peace agreement.

A senior US official said on Wednesday March 2 that Sudan's government and Darfur rebels have a "reasonable chance" of securing an effective ceasefire at African Union-sponsored talks due to start this month.

But Garang voiced doubt about the current government's sincerity. "The government of Khartoum is complicit in the events in Darfur," he said. "You cannot turn around and ask the same government to solve the problem."

Garang called in February for the creation of a neutral force of up to 30,000 troops from the government, the SPLM and other countries to stop the fighting in Darfur. He said the proposal was under discussion but that the Khartoum government was "not comfortable" with it.

International aid agency Oxfam has said only half of the 3,320 personnel promised by the African Union have arrived in Darfur and their efforts have been hindered by shortages of funding and a lack of logistical support.
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Darfur rebels demand Government withdrawal before peace talks

Today, March 6, the Darfur rebels demanded that the Sudanese government withdraw its troops before the next round of peace talks due sometime this month.

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Reuters photo: Teenage Sudan Liberation Army fighters in the rebel held village of Bodong in North Darfur.

Friday, March 04, 2005

Iraq pulls out of International Criminal Court

One can't help wondering who is all behind the decision of Iraq's interim government to pull out of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Excerpt from Agence France Presse report via RF Europe March 2:
Iraq's interim government has revoked its decision to adhere to the International Criminal Court, which it had announced just two weeks ago.

State television says that Iraq pulled back from the court today. It offered no explanation.

The ICC, based in The Hague, is the first permanent court mandated to try charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It began operating in July 2002.

Several members of the former regime of Saddam Hussein, including the ousted president himself, are due to face trial in Iraq for war crimes.
Note, almost 100 countries have ratified the Rome treaty recognising the ICC. Notable exceptions are China and the Bush administration, which oppose the court. US President Bill Clinton signed up to the court, but his successor, President George W Bush, revoked the signature.